Lowcountry, which the Chicago Reader just crowned as the Best of Chicago, is expanding to the Region.

The Cajun seafood boil restaurant plans to open in the former Bar Louie in Merrillville.

Lowcountry first opened in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood nine years ago, serving southern seafood bags to diners on picnic tables. It has since expanded to the South Loop, Chinatown and Milwaukee, where it’s located on Water Street about a half mile from Fiserv Forum. Owners Pan and Dana Hompluem hope to open in Merrillville in a few months.

She has family in Northwest Indiana.

“Honestly, we love the area,” he said. 

Lowcountry has won a number of accolades, including being named one of the 10 best seafood restaurants in the country by USA Today and winning the Chicago Reader’s Best in Chicago for seafood restaurant for two straight years.

“We appreciate all the accolades but the greatest accolade is customers coming back over and over again,” he said.

Lowcountry offers southern-style seafood boils in which shrimp, crab and other seafoods are boiled in a bag along with Cajun spices, potatoes, corn on the cob and other ingredients. It’s a South Carolina cuisine also sometimes known as a Frogmore Stew, a Beaufort boil or a tidewater boil.

“It all started from our backyards. We’d host parties with boils all the time where people were enjoying all the food and the fun of a seafood boil,” he said. “It stemmed from my childhoods visiting Louisiana and the Gulf Coast with my family over summer. I just loved the concept, the flavors, the freshness of the seafood and the communal aspect of it people bond over.

Lowcountry offers a unique hands-on dining experience in which diners tear open the seafood boil bags and dig in.

“You get gloves and bibs but basically it’s come as you are,” he said. “It’s going to get messy. Most seafood restaurants are button-up, white-tablecloth places but this is more casual. It’s like eating crabs with my grandmother on the beach. It’s a casual, hands-on experience. There’s no dress code, no reservations. You just come as you are.”

Customers decided on a seafood like shrimp, snow crabs, mussels, lobsters, crawfish or king crabs. Then they decide on the spice level ranging from mild to ridiculously hot. Sauce options include lemon pepper, garlic or everything, a combination of all three. They can add in other ingredients like corn, sausage, potatoes, green beans or broccoli.

“Lowcountry helped start a trend when it opened in 2015,” he said. “It was a massive hit. It definitely paved the way for other seafood boils to open. We appreciate and like the competition. But we planted the flag for the genre we’re in. We were also the first restaurant on TikTok back when it was just kids dancing and doing pranks. We made videos showcasing what we’re doing that went vital. It made people interested in seafood boils. It makes it look like a fun, vibrant experience. And the food looks good visually.”

Lowcountry has long drawn customers from across Indiana, including Northwest Indiana.

“We have loyal customers who keep coming back,” he said. “We had customers from Northwest Indiana, from Merrillville and Schererville, asking us to come there all the time.”

It flies in seafood fresh daily, such as snow crab from Canada, mussels from New Zealand and shrimp from the Gulf Coast.

“We bring in the freshest seafood,” he said. “It’s full of flavor.”

Lowcountry is taking over an 8,000-square-foot Bar Louie, which it’s renovating to have more of a southern flair.

“The bones of it are great for what we do,” he said. “We basically want it to look like a backyard party, a casual party.”

Lowcountry plans to open without a bar at first as it’s working on issues transferring the Bar Louie liquor license over, he said. Eventually it will have a full, three-way liquor license with beer and festive cocktails like Mai Tais meant to complement the seafood boil experience.”

Lowcountry’s previous locations have all been in cities but it’s looking to branch out more into suburban areas as well.

“This will be our first standalone restaurant with a parking lot instead of street parking where we’re not in the middle of downtown,” he said. “We’re excited. This is what Lowcountry should be like in future expansions. This should be a good first test. We plan to keep growing until customers say no.”

Little Italy, the popular Italian restaurant on U.S. 30 in Dyer, plans to open a second location in downtown Schererville.

The chef-owned restaurant specializing in Italian comfort food at 1155 Joliet St. in Dyer closed on the purchase of 1.5 acres on Joliet Street or Old Lincoln Highway in downtown Schererville.

“It’s small houses the town has been buying over the years and clearing away for a redevelopment like this,” Town Councilman Tom Schmitt said.

Owners Andrew and Theresa Easterday acquired the five lots, which they plan to turn into a two-story building with a Little Italy restaurant and two other commercial spaces on the ground floor and condos upstairs.

The second Little Italy will occupy a smaller space than the current restaurant in Dyer but will have the same menu of pastas, entrees and desserts. It’s known for a romantic, Italian courtyard-like ambiance, pasta like fireside gnocchi and mushroom risotto, brick-oven pizza and entrees like steak, pork shoulder and maple- and balsamic-glazed salmon, all of which come with a side of baked ziti.

“We’re just thrilled to have them. They’re a first-class operation,” Schmitt said. “They should bring more foot traffic downtown. We’ve been trying to bring more business downtown similar to other towns around. It’s a very popular restaurant and we’re really excited they’re going to open a second restaurant downtown.”

It’s part of the riverfront district meant to help revitalizing downtown Schererville, which is home to many municipal buildings but has long been sleepier than other commercial districts in town along U.S. 30 and Indianapolis Boulevard.

“They’ve been a huge draw on U.S. 30,” he said. “Our hope is that this kickstarts redevelopment downtown. The town still owns four or five more properties that could be redeveloped.”

A hot dog stand is coming to downtown Highland.

Sip owner Rhonda Bloch plans to open it in the current location of The Counter Ice Cream & Italian Ice when it moves to a larger space across the street. 

“The hotdog stand is gonna be where the counter is now they’re moving across the street opening up a bigger location. So he rented the space to me which it should be mid June that I get in there and be open by the end of June. It’s going to be called Dirty Dogs,” she said. “It will be a unique gourmet hotdogs, sausage, etc.”

Bloch also is looking to open an avocado toast and coffee trailer.

“It’s really cool. It’s nothing but avocado toast and lattes,” she said. “That should be in the next couple weeks.”

Al Salam Market plans to open a Middle Eastern restaurant and grocery store in Porte De L’eau Plaza in Highland.

Owner Luka Odeh is opening the buffet-style restaurant and market at 2044 45th St., Highland. The plan is to have a grand opening celebration with free samples, a barbecue and live entertainment from 5-9 p.m. on the Fourth of July.

It will serve Middle Eastern cuisine like shawarma, falafel, kebobs and kofta. In a few months, he also plans to open a restaurant next door called Crunch It Express that will focus on shawarma and falafel.

“These are literally my mom’s recipes,” he said. “Basically, this business came up out of a need for authentic Middle Eastern good and groceries. There’s a desperate need for it in this area.”

For more information, call 219-900-6900.

Chipotle Mexican Grill recently opened at 2302 Thornton-Lansing Road in Lansing.

The fast-casual chain opened at  Torrence Avenue and Thornton-Lansing Road, where it serves customizable bowls, burritos and tacos made with fresh ingredients like steak, carnitas and guacamole.

The Lansing location has a Chipotlane drive-through window where customers can pick up online orders.

It’s open from 10:45 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.

Crown Point Pediatric Dentistry PC signed long-term lease at the South Court Professional Center at 1549 S. Court St. in Crown Point.

The pediatric dental group is moving to the medical office office complex in order to expand its services and be able to offer state-of-the-art pediatric dental care with advanced dental equipment in a child-friendly setting.

The dentist’s office focuses on the oral health of children, preventative care and education.

“We are proud to have facilitated this lease agreement for Crown Point Pediatric Dentistry,” said Antony Miocic of Latitude Commercial Real Estate. “The South Court Professional Center is an excellent fit for their needs, and we are confident that their new location will contribute to their continued success and growth in the community.”

For more information, visit pediatricandfamilydentistry.com.

House of India, an Indian grocery store and restaurant, shuttered its longtime Schererville location.

The market and restaurant was located at 827 Main St. in the Main Street Commons, just off the busy intersection of Main Street and Indianapolis Boulevard.

The restaurant served lunch and dinner, offering samosas, khasta kachor, palak paneer, mutter paneer, chutney, rasmalai, baraga bigan, gulab jambun and pakoda. It had many spicy and vegetarian options and shelves full of imported foods, teas and other items.

Rockablock, a streetwear brand that’s sold T-shirts at the Museum of Science and Industry, is closing its store in Merrillville after three years.

It sells T-shirts, including those celebrating Black history, such as an augmented reality Freedom Fighter T-shirt that tells you more about figures like Harriett Tubman and Frederick Douglass if you hold your phone’s camera over it.

Owner Rockland Page said the business, a winner of the Purdue University Northwest’s The Big Sell, will continue to operate, just at a different location.

“After 3 years of operating a brick and mortar store in Northwest Indiana, I have made the decision to close my Rockablock Merrillville location. This does not signal the end of my business; rather, I have chosen not to renew my lease as I believe Merrillville is not the optimal location for the future growth of my brand. I am currently in the process of securing a new location that I believe will better facilitate the expansion of my brand,” he posted.  “I am grateful to the community in Merrillville for their support and embrace over the years. I have had the opportunity to accomplish incredible things and meet wonderful individuals during my time here. While some services, such as custom printing, may be limited for now, online ordering is still available. Thank you to everyone who made the trip to shop with me and experience the passion I put into my work every day. I am both excited and nervous about the next chapter in my journey, but I am eager to continue growing. Thank you to Merrillville and Northwest Indiana for the support.”